A satellite phone call to his company put in motion a response to the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. An average number of recreational backcountry deaths or rescues involving out-of-state visitors in recent years was not immediately available. The operator, Alaska Alpine Adventures, said the women were among eight guests and two guides at the tail end of a 12-day excursion. The recent deaths of two women during a rafting excursion illustrate not only how unpredictably dangerous Alaska's wilderness can be, but also how limited resources are in the nation's largest state. What's more, an earlier response launched in an Army helicopter had to be scrapped after the crew realized the location was much farther than originally thought.

Source: ABC News June 27, 2016 06:31 UTC